


Thunderbirds Are Go - “Heartbreak Hotel”

by countessofsnark



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Angst, Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2019-06-14 01:43:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15377913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/countessofsnark/pseuds/countessofsnark
Summary: I desperately wanted to do a Virgil and Grandma comfort fic after stumbling across a post in which @theoldwayworkstoo suggests Virgil is Grandma’s favourite grandson because he reminds her of her late husband - that sometimes, Grandma is the only person with whom he can share everything now that his parents are gone - especially matters of the heart. I believe Virgil is perhaps the most sensitive of the Tracy brothers (physically he’s the strongest but emotionally he’s a fragile cinnamon roll, the one who will seek to express his feelings through music and art rather than talking about it) Maybe I’m having early winter blues vibes IDEK but I’m in an emo fic kind of mood and the victim du jour is poor Virgil. When it comes to rejection, my head canon for Virgil is that it’ll take him a long time to get over that, no matter how much realises that he has to move on, he’ll beat himself up over it time and time again until Grandma reminds him that moving on and making mistakes is a very human/normal thing to do. /rantsy rant.





	Thunderbirds Are Go - “Heartbreak Hotel”

When Scott heard Virgil’s trademark chunky footsteps, he wanted to crack a joke about his younger brother’s amourous escapades. However, upon noticing the hurricane that was brewing behind Virgil’s brown eyes, he wisely swallows those words and gives his brother some space. Alan, the precious noodle of the family, is not as gifted in the area of social clues. He came running up to Virgil and attempted to high five him.

‘Yo, how’s it going, Casanova?’

Virgil briefly looks up and shrugs.

‘Whatever, I’m off to bed’, he says, oblivious to Alan’s confusion.

Grandma, who had been witnessing the scene from the back of the room, decides to intervene.

‘Alan, your brother just got home. Please stop being pushy. He’s probably tired and needs to rest.’

Alan pouts and crosses his arms in silent protest as he dramatically flops his spindly frame into the nearest couch.

Grandma Tracy knocks on her favourite grandson’s bedroom door. 

‘Go away,’ a muffled voice at the other side of the door says.

‘Virgil?’ Grandma tries.

A few moments later, the knob turns and Virgil opens the door. Grandma could tell that he had been crying. She is shocked by the way he slumped his shoulders – a far cry from the confident lumberjack she’s come to know and love. 

She closes the door behind her, and follows Virgil to his bed. He has changed into a pair of plaid PJs. Grandma is the only one in the house who is allowed to approach him now – like a wounded bear who will bite and snap at everyone except for the one person he knows he can trust. She sighs and gently strokes his face, tracing the salty streaks of dried tears.

‘She didn’t even say goodnight. Just turned around and left me sitting there. I couldn’t explain it. I’ve never felt more embarrassed or humiliated. If I had known she was going to react like that, I never would have let things escalate.’

Virgil sighs, staring at his feet. At last, he looks up. The mix of emotion and pain in his eyes makes her own eyes fill up with tears.

‘Grandma,’ Virgil says, suppressing a sob, ‘is there something wrong with me?’

‘Why on Earth would you say that, my dear boy?’

‘She told me I was gross. She said my parents should’ve done the right thing when I was born and just gotten rid of it. And that I was too big for her, that it was bound to hurt. Said that I was too quiet, too damn serious. That someone who can spend hours staring at paintings and playing sonatas would probably be a bore in the sack,’ he sighed. ‘I figured she let me share my interest in music and art because she might be interested in what it means to me but now I think she only wanted me to go out with her so she could… so we would end up…’

‘Let me get one thing straight here. Your parents made the right choice by not making a choice for you. It’s your body and only you can decide what happens to it. And as for the other matter – you didn’t choose that, either. And if your being a quiet, thoughtful person with a soft spot for music and art bothers her, well, then the only bad choice one could blame you for, is to waste your time hanging out with the likes of that girl. But we are only human. And humans are prone to making mistakes.’

Virgil nods, his eyes glazing over with fresh tears. He leans his head into Grandma’s shoulder. She runs her fingers through his black hair and kisses his forehead.

They continue to sit on the side of his luxurious king size bed and gaze out the window at the starry, moonlit sky.

**Author's Note:**

> I desperately wanted to do a Virgil and Grandma comfort fic after stumbling across a post in which @theoldwayworkstoo suggests Virgil is Grandma’s favourite grandson because he reminds her of her late husband - that sometimes, Grandma is the only person with whom he can share everything now that his parents are gone - especially matters of the heart. I believe Virgil is perhaps the most sensitive of the Tracy brothers (physically he’s the strongest but emotionally he’s a fragile cinnamon roll, the one who will seek to express his feelings through music and art rather than talking about it) Maybe I’m having early winter blues vibes IDEK but I’m in an emo fic kind of mood and the victim du jour is poor Virgil. When it comes to rejection, my head canon for Virgil is that it’ll take him a long time to get over that, no matter how much realises that he has to move on, he’ll beat himself up over it time and time again until Grandma reminds him that moving on and making mistakes is a very human/normal thing to do. /rantsy rant.


End file.
